Pammi Pasqual – Behind The Scenes Of ‘Riders On The Storm’

Pammi Pasqual, the Greek-born DJ and Producer, has been working to carve out a unique space within the landscape of Electronic Music, bringing his thoughtful, genre-blurring approach to the scene. With his latest release, ‘Riders On The Storm,’ he continued to showcase his ability to merge storytelling with innovative production, putting forward a production rich in meaning and powerful in sound. 

In this interview, he takes us behind the scenes of the song’s creation, reflecting on the challenges, inspirations, and collaborations that brought it to life.

Hi Pammi Pasqual, how are you?

Hi, I am doing very well! Thanks for having me.

To begin, what was the initial inspiration behind ‘Riders On The Storm,’ and how did the concept evolve during the production process?

In 2017, I did a remix for my friend Martin Levon, who released a track called ‘Riders On The Storm’ which was a Deep House tune using a sample of the original Doors song! For that remix, I only kept that vocal sample, and I did a completely new production from scratch. For that production/remix I took a more melodic and nostalgic approach with brash instruments and acoustic pianos with the vocal sample, ‘Riders On The Storm’ frequently repeated throughout the track. Immediately after that release I felt like trying something new inspired by this production I made. The idea was to create a new original song based on this production, with a proper structure and arrangement without using any vocal samples and with a stronger meaning.

The main trumpet melody and its sad and melancholic character inspired me to write about something serious and concerning. This is when I came up with this concept of writing an antiwar song. At that time, and when I was writing it back in 2017, I was very concerned about the global tension between superpowers and the war conflict in Syria. These days I am even more concerned and that’s why I decided to finalise it and realise it in 2024, years after I recorded it.

Back when I started writing the lyrics, I did it while imagining a Utopia where soldiers would actually bring peace, imagining soldiers carrying flowers instead of weapons while delivering food to the hungry and poor of each neighbourhood. In my mind the phrase ‘Riders On The Storm’ took a different meaning in that context, it took the meaning of all these immigrants who had to leave their homes and families and travel days and nights in extremely bad conditions to escape. When I started singing the lyrics and humming the melodies I felt that this is powerful, the message of this song moved me, and I knew that I had to record it properly in the studio with a vocalist whose voice would resonate this. 

How did your collaboration with Luke Trundell come about, and what was it like working with him on this track?

I met with Luke in 2013-14, during my first year at the Academy of Music and Sound of Southampton where I was studying music production, and he was studying music and bass guitar. We had a good vibe together and recorded a few demos for Uni projects. When I created this song, he was the first to come in my mind for this. I believed that the warmth of his voice and its rock character would fit well with the character of the song.  And it really did! We booked a session at the studio of one of our ex-tutor’s, producer and audio engineer Tom Gibson. The session was very smooth, we knew each other, and we had previously worked together so it was relatively easy to ‘translate’ what we both had in our minds into this record. 

The track features a unique combination of spoken phrases and melodic vocals. How did you decide on this vocal arrangement to complement the instrumental?

There are a few spoken phrases such as ‘Brother be strong’ in the beginning of the track, or ‘..there are children without a home, so much fear around the globe..’  which are part of the pre-chorus. These spoken phrases were used to give an emphasis as strong statements in a certain tone and at specific parts of the track. I believe that I had been subconsciously influenced from the work of artists like Faithless when writing these parts. The seriousness of these spoken statements emphasises the tragedy of the situation. Although, there is a distinct contrast with the singing part that comes at the chorus straight after, which is somehow lighter, brighter, more positive and maybe a bit delusional. The choruses switch from the reality of the situation which had been previously described, to the illusion, to the utopia, by singing ‘If only weapons were made of flowers and the armies had no powers…’ These lyrics follow the melodic line of the solo trumpet and they fit perfectly with the bittersweet sound of the trumpet in these parts of the song. 

The song blends powerful beats and synth lines with bright electric guitars and piano motifs. How did you approach layering the different elements in the track to create the full-bodied soundscape, all while ensuring a crisp and clean mix?

That was a challenge, balancing all these elements together and delivering a clean and balanced result. I mainly used arrangement techniques with this to help me before I went to the mixing stage. I tried giving space to the instruments at different parts of the song and not having all of them clashing at the same time. For example, when the electric guitars are playing after the first drop there’s no synths or other dominant sounds other than some vocalising, bass and drums. Similarly, during the trumpet solo there’s not much more going on rather than the bass, vocals and some background piano arpeggios and sound textures. These type of arrangement decisions created a balanced production, and they helped a lot with the mixing process at a later stage. I finished the mixing with the helping hand of Moises Zetina at Westway Records Studio. Together with Moises we worked on the mix and ‘cleaned’ some of the harsh frequencies and spaced out the instruments even better to deliver a cleaner and more balanced result.

How do you manage to incorporate your signature sound into a track like this while still allowing room for experimentation?

I think that in terms of incorporating my signature sound, this is something that comes naturally and it usually happens when I have no reference track in front of me and/or when I work independently on the production. If and when I follow my instinct and feelings only, I often come up with a sound that reflects my sound identity. That identity comes from my internal feelings and personal experiences which are unique to me and therefore they may reflect something unique to my sound too. 

I love being spontaneous, curious and creative and for an artist these are core personality traits. Therefore, I am always open for experimentation and this track is a great example of it. Although, I had no intention of recording electric guitars before we walked into the studio, I saw Tom’s great collection of Gibson guitars sitting right next to us and the temptation was there. It crossed my mind, but I said nothing and tried to stick with the plan of recording the vocals. A few minutes later and during a tea break, Tom grabbed one of his guitars and he started jamming on top of the track! I said that’s it! That’s it, play that again! That’s the vibe! We are recording this! He jammed along the track and 5 minutes later I was convinced that we had some great melodic riffs to work with in the production.

Was there a specific moment in the studio where everything clicked or did the track come together gradually?

I think that electric guitar moment was one of these moments, where I felt that the track was complete! It sat so well on parts of the song, and it made the message stronger and more emotional. It gave such a great emphasis to the meaning of the song! Another moment was when Luke first sang the chorus following the trumpet solo melody. That bittersweet trumpet melody is my favourite part of the song, so the moment that Luke started singing the chorus following that melody, I felt that things were coming together nicely. I remember I had such a euphoric feeling listening to Luke’s warm voice while singing the choruses. Singing a positive message through a metaphor about peace. So, I think that we had certain moments where things clicked, but at the same time the track came together step by step. 

What were the biggest production challenges you faced while working on this track, and how did you overcome them?

The electric guitars indeed!! Although they sat great in the track when I first heard them in the recording session, that was mainly the perception of myself based on the feel that these sounds added to the overall track. Technically speaking they were clashing a lot with other sounds. The track is quite smooth and chilled while these electric guitars are slightly angry and certainly dominant! They gave me a hard time in the mix, trying to balance them with the rest of the production without overdoing it! As I mentioned recording them wasn’t a part of my plan and at the same time, I didn’t have much space for them in the production. I had to re-arrange things after the guitar and vocals recording and re-work on the arrangement and instrumentation to give them the right space and time in the song! It took me hours and hours, but I’m pleased with the result.

Given that this track was released on your own label, Playdance Records, how does having control over both the creative and release processes affect the way you approach production?

That gives me so much creative freedom because I can release what I want and the way I want it. Therefore, I can approach production with an open mind! I often have a production plan based on a song that I’ve already written and by default I will start within the Electronic Dance and House domains which are my favourite ones as a DJ. Although, I don’t write music or produce music to fit in a specific genre or in the ‘box’ of a recording label. I used to do that often, but I do so less and less these days. 

Let’s put it this way, the more I mature as an artist, the more I define my sound and therefore the less I risk of becoming a copycat. One of the reasons I created Playdance was to do self-releases and release my sound as intended! I have recently restarted Playdance after a long break, and ‘Riders On The Storm’ is the beginning of this restart. I have many upcoming songs which diversify into various other music styles and blur boundaries between Electronic Dance Music genres. I wouldn’t have the freedom to experiment as much and release this music if I didn’t have this platform. 

Can you tell us what you have coming up next? Should fans expect more collaborations or releases soon?

I can definitely tell you that I have many collaborations coming up in 2025! Also, I have a new release coming up mid or end of December and it will be a small surprise since I haven’t released another original song similar to this one! That’s all I can share with you for now, but I’ll keep everyone posted during the next few days…

With our interview coming to an end, we thank Pammi Pasqual for his time and for allowing us a glimpse into his process, technical approach, and the thoughts behind his single, ‘Riders On The Storm.’ As he looks ahead to 2025, fans can anticipate new releases and collaborations, with his journey continuing to lead him to explore new avenues of his creativity and sound. So, be sure to keep an eye on this Producer and DJ by following him across social media to not miss out on his upcoming releases and projects. 

Listen and Buy ‘Riders On The Storm’ Now: 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2xrucHpqf4swO36bi0DtEt?si=kREGmx5aSN6AzeJzwpfUfw 

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